ratchet_and_clank_roleplayingfandomcom-20200215-history
Roleplay Guidelines and Rules
Welcome to the Polaris Compendium of Roleplay Guidelines and Directions. document has not yet been rated. In the unlikely event our roleplay will fall into utter chaos due to the interference of trolls, greedy members, inactivity or Robert Wardle, we are necessitated to add a few standard rules. This measure is taken for the greater good and to make this roleplay interesting and pleasant for both members and viewers. The common rules of roleplay are the essential rules that all public roleplaying groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good roleplayer has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community. Please, read the rules through and post in the comments that you have read and agreed to these terms. Joining the Lounge will automatically sign this agreement under your name. To follow is the list of common roleplay rules that every roleplayer should understand and follow. General rules Do Not God-Mode Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse defeat in fights or ignore roleplayers in scenarios in which said roleplayers are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check. Do Not Overpower Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios. Remain in your Role Comply to your role Respect the role of your character. By taking a character under your care, we can only assume that you like this character and that you have delved deeply into careful studies. Know your character, feel your character and you will be able to be your character. If the persona of your character is cheerful and dumb, respect that and don't go and be Albert Einstein. Do Not Metagame Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of roleplay and most infuriating for many. Do Not Mix IC and OOC Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix IC and OOC." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the roleplayers themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming. However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character). Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary Sue who player B can't separate himself from. Do Not Auto (autohitting, autowalking, etc.) Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players. Do Not Powerplay Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally. Roleplay Properly Grammar and Punctuation It is pleasant for everyone that you use proper grammar and punctuation in the roleplays. It is perfectly alright if you use typos. Not all members - myself included - are from America, Britain or any other country that has English as their primary language. And while the roleplay can be completed perfectly in a good manner, even with bad grammar, it is highly recommended to watch your vocabulary. It can be quite annoying and sometimes, it even troubles other roleplayers to know what the hell you are saying. No Swearing, Gore, etc. Basically, what the title says. No swearing - neither in the roleplay, nor in the Lounge. Do not post gore topics, such as people ripping each other's bowels out with a butter knife. It goes without saying that this is not what our roleplay is about. Do not post anything erotic, such as naked men or women alike. Respect Eachother You show respect to your fellow roleplayers. If another roleplayer is not interested in the play you wish to perform, you respect their decision to opt out and you do not boss around, bully or annoy them. You do not slander another page, unless the admin of that page agrees and/or if that is what your character does on a daily basis. Be the Nice Guy/Girl Accept constructive criticism, be nice, don't take things said in roleplay personally, make friends, chat up, etc. Be easy to get along with, and great roleplaying opportunities shall come your way. C, OC and OOC Cs - or ICs - are the actual Characters: characters that appear in the series. This is what the roleplay is primarly about. Interacting between Cs are a must. While our roleplay community revolves mainly about Cs, there can also be OCs: Original Characters. These are characters that have no place or significant appearance in the series, but you can interact with them nonetheless. Every roleplayer is dedicated to their own choice whether or not they wish to interact with OCs! If roleplayer refuses to have C-OC-interaction, you should respect this decision. OOC is when you are roleplaying, but you fall "Out Of Character". Try to avoid this as much as possible. Everything that has to be discussed among roleplayers, shall be discussed in private chat or in the Lounge as roleplayers. Do not discuss Roleplayer-business while in role. Roleplayer on Roleplayer Interaction Should you wish to begin a roleplay - a small one or a larger in extent - , you discuss what the roleplay is about with the roleplayers of all characters involved in this particular roleplay. Bring your idea for the play to the other players and be open for new ideas from their part. Do not slander them with your idea alone! Every participant in the play has a right to give their own input and ideas. If one player does not like the idea of another player, discuss this in a peaceful and harmless manner. Try to negotiate and find a happy medium so that every player feels comfortable. If you feel like starting up a large-scaled roleplay, in which many players will be involved - or a play in which there is an undetermined selection of players - you place a status in the Lounge. Bring your idea to the Lounge, so that other players can decide whether or not they wish to participate. In the comments, other players will be permitted to give their own imput or idea, and you will listen and take these in account. Roleplayer on Character Interaction This is a type of interaction that should be avoided. Discuss roleplaying scenarios and strategies from Roleplayer to Roleplayer or within the Lounge. Stay in your role 24/7 while on the page. Character on Character Interaction Characters have the right to comment on other character's statuses or dialogues in a proper and polite manner. Do not insult, slander or bully other characters unless this is part of your role or if this is discussed with the significant other. Once the other roleplayer complains that they feel threatened or hurt, abort the slander immediately! Character on OC Interaction As statd in Paragraph 9: OCs have less power within the roleplay than official characters. Every roleplayer decides for themselves if they wish to interact with OCs. If they refuse, the admin of the OC has no right to demand interaction. Do Not One-Line Unless it's a preference with someone you're roleplaying with. Most people prefer at least a single paragraph, but some others allow one-lining. Just make sure you check the other person's preference (usually in the form of Roleplaying Rules in blogs) before trying to roleplay with others. Do Not Steal This includes layout designs, storyline ideas, pictures, display names, biographies, roleplaying rules, etc. Don't be afraid to ask someone if you can copy something, 9 times out of 10 they'll say "Yes," and they'll expect credit so whatever you borrowed from someone, make sure you write "Credit to: name" under whatever you took. Drama Ah, drama. A roleplayer's worst pet peeve. Roleplayers mainly hate all the real life drama others bring in for attention. Don't be that person that sends a million bulletins/journals about your real life issues. * If you have a problem in real life, talk with a friend in comments, messages, or on IM. Don't broadcast it to the world. However, you are allowed to broadcast in a journal that you'll limit your activity because of a death, school/work, problems in the family, etc. Just don't go overboard. * Don't post a million statuses about how your parents are annoying. We all have annoying parents. * Also, don't claim that you're going to retire, and then be all "oh wait, never mind." That pisses people off the most. If you're going to retire, think about it thoroughly and don't broadcast it prematurely just so you can watch everyone beg you to stay. Retiring is a personal decision. Activity While these are dire times and everyone is busy with something - like school, work, family, relationships, etc. - it is strongly appreciated if you come online once in a while. It is a shame if you have a character but you never have the chance to roleplay. We would also like to ask if you could pick your character based on your level of activity. An important character, like the main cast, needs to be online a lot, while minor characters can afford to stay offline for a while. Don't pick an important character if you know you won't be able to come online a lot. Pages Limitation Every roleplaying member within this group is entitled to have one or two official characters under their care. One character is recommended, two is accepted. More than two is highly prohibited. Your characters should be based not only on your favoritism, but also on your level of activity. Main characters - e.g. Ratchet, Clank or Dr. Nefarious - can and will not be adminned by a member that can not guarentee frequent activity. Members that are less active, should remain with minor characters. Media Networks and Military Installations Pages that include media networks - such as Pox News, Pirate Radio, Darla Gratch, etc. - or pages that revolve around military installations or mercenary swoop gangs - such as the Polaris Defense Force, Space Pirates, etc. - are an exception to the rule stated in Article 14. Media pages are more categorized as fanbase pages rather than actual characters, and can be adminned by someone who already exceeded the limit of 2 official characters. Military bodies or mercenary gangs are also an exception, since these pages represent groups of armed forces, rather than actual characters that can converse and dialogue with other characters. Limitations for Original Characters A roleplayer is entitled to have an OC, if said OC abides to following rules. All above-mentioned rules that were applied on canon characters, also apply on OCs. Required Canon Character The roleplayer that wishes to engage a roleplaying with an OC, must have at least one canon character under their administration. Which character they have is their decision. The roleplayer must be equally active on both canon page and OC - it does not suffice for you to simply make a canon page. You must also interact as this page. Involvement and Ties When a new OC will be created, it must have at least one tie to another character. Warning: an OC can have a tie with another OC, but this is not mandatory. It is, however, obligated to have a tie between the OC and a canon character. The admin of the canon character your OC is connected to, must approve of the tie and be involved in the development of the relationship OC-canon character. ''' '''Development of Biography An OC must have a well-developed biography and ties to the roleplay and the games BEFORE the OC will be initiated into the roleplay. This to prevent that paradoxes and misunderstandings will occur later on. A file, document and/or wiki article of this OC and their biography is necessary to be accessed by anyone within the roleplay, so that they may consult it. Respect the Timeline An OC - as well as any other canon character - cannot be a paradox to the timeline we have established for our roleplay. The OC must follow the current timeline we are following, and can not create anomalies that contradict the timeline. Full Approval An OC - as well as any other canon character - cannot be a paradox to the timeline we have established for our roleplay. The OC must follow the current timeline we are following, and can not create anomalies that contradict the timeline. Exceptions Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players. Always keep in mind that the purpose of roleplaying online is to have fun. Category:A.Z. Files Category:Roleplaying Lounge